Reds general manager Walt Jocketty apparently wasn’t kidding when he said there was “not a lot of interest” in Micah Owings from other teams after the right-hander was designated for assignment last week.
Owings cleared waivers and has accepted an assignment to Triple-A, which means he’ll remain in the Reds organization while losing his spot on the 40-man roster. He’ll try to get back on track in the minors, but Owings is unlikely to receive a September call-up now that a 40-man spot would need to be cleared for his return.
He’s still just 27 years old and at one point looked like a potential middle-of-the-rotation starter long term, but Owings has ERAs of 5.93, 5.34, and 5.40 over the past three seasons and given his strong track record offensively I continue to think he’d be better off ditching pitching for an attempt at becoming a full-time position player. He has a .293 batting average and .538 slugging percentage in 198 career plate appearances and also starred as a hitter in college.

Jon Heyman of FanRag Sports reports Thursday that the Orioles “are said to have begun fielding calls of interest” on superstar Manny Machado and “are close to the point of seriously weighing whether to trade him.”

You’d think it would be a no-brainer for the last-place O’s to flip Machado — an impending free agent — for prospects, but Heyman notes there is “still a question whether or not longtime Orioles owner Peter Angelos” will give the go-ahead. One person familiar with the situation put it a “50-50” likelihood. Another suggested that it would take a massive return, which, sure.

Machado entered play Thursday with a sensational .328/.405/.635 batting line, 15 home runs, and an MLB-leading 43 RBI in 49 games. It’d be a real shock if he’s still wearing an O’s uniform by the end of July.

Heyman reported previously that at least nine teams made aggressive plays for Machado this winter, including the Cubs, Phillies, Dodgers, Indians, Diamondbacks, Yankees, Red Sox, White Sox, and Cardinals. A whole lot of those teams still make sense here in late May — maybe all of them except the White Sox.